As more details become available from the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, we are trying to make meaning of how such things are possible. We are thankful that the shooter was stopped before he made his way down to the ballroom and that the wounded Secret Service Officer is recovering but asking ourselves when will violence stop being seen as the answer.
In the United States we have a culture where anger and strife are fed and sometimes admired, held up as proof that someone cares passionately about a grievance or ideology. We can be quick to take offense. Current modeling is to become more polarized, rather than to stop, pay attention, listen, to solve problems, and to reach across the aisle.
Faith leader Cameron Trimble tells us that we must ask what kind of moral environment makes this type of shooting possible in the first place. Trimble says leadership play a central role in this crisis, “When a leader consistently uses language that dehumanizes, ridicules, and frames conflict as domination, it does not remain at the level of rhetoric. It begins to shape the emotional life of a nation. It lowers the threshold for what feels acceptable. It teaches people how to express their anger.”
The messages from leadership and the current culture influence all of us, not just those of one political persuasion or interest group. We are all at risk of dehumanizing rhetoric chipping away at our ability to always see others as deserving of compassion and respect. For some it makes violence easier to imagine and embody. Our work in this time is to speak out in ways that push back against dehumanization. To be the voice for change without voicing contempt for those who disagree with us. Our theological work is to know our own heart and mind first and have our words uphold the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Let us not see those we strongly disagree with as less human than those with whom we agree. We can call for accountability and experience anger as a response to injustice, but we need to be the continued voices for peace.